2 other buses involved in Quezon City mishap, says driver

Manila, Philippines - The bus driver implicated in the death of Lourdes “Chit” Estella-Simbulan is now pointing to not just one but two other buses in the accident that killed the veteran journalist.

Authorities held a press conference yesterday to announce that Daniel Espinosa had decided not to go home to his residence in Taytay, Rizal and instead decided to stay at Camp Karingal.

Upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Espinosa was brought to the headquarters of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) at around 1 a.m., where he sought police protection and security.

Espinosa’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, is now asking the fiscal to subpoena the company whose two buses were allegedly racing on that fateful night of May 13.

Espinosa, who was driving the Universal Guiding Star bus that rammed the taxicab carrying Simbulan along Commonwealth Avenue, arrived in Manila at past midnight yesterday from Davao.

Espinosa opted not to face the media who had been staking out the camp starting noon on Friday after news of his return to Manila broke out.

He instead asked Panelo to speak on his behalf. Panelo said his client had given him a “spontaneous narration of facts” of what happened on the night of the accident.

“He told me about it. There were two Nova Bus Lines (units) racing against each other,” he said, adding that Espinosa even gave him a sketch of the incident.

Panelo said the two other buses were initially behind the vehicle driven by Espinosa until one of the two “initially smashed the taxicab,” apparently referring to the unidentified bus tagged in the police report that supposedly sideswiped the cab carrying Simbulan.

At the time, according to Espinosa’s narration to Panelo, the taxicab was trying to “transfer from one lane to another.”

“He (Espinosa) tried to avoid hitting it (taxicab) but it was too late,” the lawyer said.

“I intend to ask the city prosecutor to issue a subpoena duces tecum so that I would know the buses that ply that area so we can identify the buses,” he said.

When asked if his client would like to meet with Simbulan’s widower Roland to ask forgiveness for what happened, Panelo said he had not talked to Espinosa about it.

Espinosa’s wife Virginia faced the media earlier this week asking the Simbulan family to forgive her husband, who was then still in hiding.

The STAR contacted Simbulan, also a University of the Philippines professor like his wife, yesterday morning, but he did comment on Espinosa’s surrender.

Upon arrival at Camp Karingal early yesterday morning, Espinosa faced Assistant City Prosecutor Irene Resurreccion, who was sent by City Prosecutor Donald Lee to furnish the driver a copy of the complaint against him.

The fiscal hearing the complaint against Espinosa, Ronald Torijos, has set a hearing on May 31.

Not running away

Espinosa is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property and abandonment of one’s own victim.

“It was his (Espinosa’s) personal request that he remain here at the camp until the termination of the conduct of the preliminary investigation (on the complaint against him),” Resurreccion told the media.

Asked why his client chose to stay inside the police camp even if he can go home, Panelo said, “He feels more safe here (at the camp) than elsewhere.”

“(With Espinosa’s decision to stay inside the camp) the grieving (Simbulan) family could be content that this person has a conscience,” he said.

Panelo said it was also a practical decision, adding that it would be easier for him to meet with his client if he stayed at the camp instead of going home to Rizal.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent George Regis said Espinosa would not be treated like a detainee and would not be placed behind bars.

Regis said Espinosa would be allowed to stay “like a guest” in a “comfortable place” inside the camp with his sister Nenita.

“He (Espinosa) is a free man. His flight from the scene of the accident was a precautionary step to avoid a potential physical beating from some civilians,” Panelo said.

Yesterday, Espinosa was made to undergo a seminar with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which was part of the order of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to Universal Guiding Star when it suspended its franchise for a month following the accident.

According to Regis, police protection would be given to Espinosa whenever he goes out only if his lawyer asks for it.

Chief Inspector Jay Borromeo, legal officer of the QCPD, said they took Espinosa’s surrender in good faith, but warned that if he vanishes again, the fiscal “will issue an order for his arrest.”

Espinosa surrendered to Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for fear that people might get interested in the P200,000 bounty offered for his arrest and that this might endanger his life.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino said no one would take home the reward money since Espinosa “voluntarily surrendered.”

But Panelo said what happened was not a surrender. “’Surrender’ is a misnomer (because) there was no warrant for his arrest,” he said.

“He (Espinosa) came (to Duterte) because he wanted to show his innocence. A guilty man would never appear,” he said.

Resurreccion said Espinosa could not be made to undergo inquest proceedings since the complaint was already filed before the fiscal in his absence.

She said there was no affidavit of arrest since he was not arrested. Instead, the complaint will go through a preliminary investigation.

Panelo questions absence of CCTV

Panelo publicly asked Tolentino during the press conference about the footage of CCTV monitors supposedly installed along Commonwealth Avenue to monitor the imposed speed limit there.

Panelo said the CCTV monitors would be helpful in determining exactly what happened and in identifying the two other buses that Espinosa was pointing to.

But Tolentino said there was no such footage, admitting that the accident that killed Simbulan was “not captured” by any of the monitors.

“(The monitor in that area) was not working on that day. (There might have been a) technical problem. If there was such, it would have been easier for us,” Tolentino said in Filipino.

Espinosa was supposed to have arrived in Manila on Friday afternoon but the plane he was supposed to board had engine trouble, and he left Davao late Friday night.